Project Example : Makeney Hall Hotel & Conference Centre
Makeney Road, Milford, Derbyshire

Description of Scheme

Background

Having previous involvement in schemes to convert the former Makeney Hospital complex into a company offices headquarters, followed by a total care centre for the elderly in the late 1980's, we were subsequently approached by new owners of this important Country House originally built for the Strutt family during the nineteenth century, to provide a new up-market Country House Hotel and Conference Centre ; the completed hotel and conference complex has been successfully operated for a number of years until being sold by our client to the Corus Hotel chain in 1999.

Scheme Brief

The original brief included for the comprehensive refurbishment and conversion of the existing 18,000 sq ft main building complex to accommodate large high-quality individually-styled traditional bedroom suites, restaurants, kitchens and reception / administration offices, together with courtyard out-building conversions to provide further bedroom suites of another 2,000 sq ft total ; as the refurbishment works progressed on site, a further new-build block of fourteen bedrooms linked by a new covered courtyard and 180-person conference suite yard in-fill were added, followed in swift succession by a new self-contained training centre with three syndicate rooms, upgrading of the main site entrance, provision of a new approach drive-way gatehouse and landscaped parking courts, all carried-out over a period of some two years.

Design Approach

Following detailed site and buildings surveys and on-going consultations with the local highways and town planning authorities throughout the design process, the development layout for the six-acres of mature gardens and grounds evolved over a considerable period of time, incorporating substantial landscaping and screen planting within the site in order to minimise the impact of the vast site areas required for new parking and service courts, whilst all new extensions and detached buildings were carefully designed and detailed to marry with the character of the existing important historical buildings :-

Budget / Final Costs

The overall value of the works was some £3.5m including fixtures, fittings and external works.

Final Design

The design solutions to the various site development components were worked-up with presentation drawings prepared to help describe the scheme to all parties concerned with the project, including the following sequence of artist's impressions for the main hotel entrance frontage and reception lobby, new covered courtyard link, drawing room, main restaurant, new in-fill conference room, new garden room restaurant extension and typical bedroom suite, respectively :-

Completed Scheme Photographs

The following sequence of photographs show the new site entrance sign, main hotel forecourt, new linked bedroom block, new self-contained training centre, main entrance lobby approach, together with interior view of the new garden room restaurant, covered linking courtyard and landscaped gardens :-